# Who played the mellotron on David Bowie’s 1973 masterpiece ‘Life on Mars?’

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/who-played-the-mellotron-on-david-bowies-1973-masterpiece-life-on-mars/
- Published: 2026-11-01T15:00:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-01T15:39:07+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/who-played-the-mellotron-on-life-on-mars/
- Topics: Space, Technology

## Key points

- Rick Wakeman played mellotron on “Life on Mars?”
- He had first worked with Bowie on “Space Oddity”.
- The single peaked at number three in the UK.

## Summary

Rick Wakeman played the mellotron on David Bowie’s “Life on Mars?”, helping create the song’s distinctive, otherworldly sound. The account highlights their long-running musical connection and Wakeman’s role in shaping a track that became one of Bowie’s best-known works.

Wakeman first worked with Bowie on “Space Oddity” in 1969, when producer Tony Visconti asked him to play the difficult-to-tune instrument. For “Life on Mars?”, recorded after Bowie’s breakthrough with *The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars*, Wakeman also played piano and was given freedom to develop his part. The single reached number three in the UK.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.